Ivon Hitchens

Howard Bliss
Leicester Galleries, London
Waddington Galleries, London
Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, by 1989, where acquired by David Bowie

London, Leicester Galleries, Ivon Hitchens, 1947, cat. no.8;
Bristol, Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, 1951, cat. no.18;
London, Serpentine Gallery, Ivon Hitchens: Forty-Five Paintings, 7th October - 30th November 1989, cat. no.18, illustrated p.14, with South Bank Centre tour to City Art Centre, Edinburgh, Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, and City Art Gallery, York.

Peter Khoroche, Ivon Hitchens, Andre Deutsch, London, 1990, cat. no.25, illustrated;
Nicholas Alfrey et. al., Towards a New Landscape, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, 1993, cat. no.15, illustrated p.119.

Original canvas, the canvas undulates very slightly in the upper left corner. There are frame abrasions to the edges, including some losses to the lower right edge. There is a small area of very fine craquelure to the centre of the canvas, and a few further scattered fine lines throughout. There are few very light scuffs, with two associated losses, one towards the centre of the composition and one towards the centre of the left edge. Subject to the above the work is in very good overall condition. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals no obvious signs of retouching or restoration. The work is presented in an ornate composition frame. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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The previous owner of this work, Howard Bliss (the younger brother of the composer Sir Arthur Bliss), was by 1944 not only one of Hitchens’ most important patrons, but also a firm friend. The financial reassurance Bliss gave Hitchens resulted in one of the most successful and productive periods of the artist’s career.

Between 1944 and 1945 Hitchens was drawn in particular to the quintessentially British setting of Terwick Mill, situated near Midhurst, Surrey, a few miles upstream from Iping where he and his family would often overnight in a guesthouse as a break from the caravan they usually resided in. During this time Hitchens embarked on a series of roughly twenty works capturing this scene as he encountered it. Painting directly on-site in all weathers and at all times of day, he would explore the changes as the seasons progressed.

This tranquil location combined his interest in water, with the quiet mill-pond and overflowing sluice gate, and his preoccupation with the Japanese concept of Nōtan (harmonies created by combinations of dark and light), explored in the surrounding woodland opening out on to the green fields and open sky beyond. This vista, comprising natural areas of shadow and sunlight with dense spaces shifting to more open areas, was Hitchens’ natural habitat. His were not paintings to be immediately read and understood; rather, the landscape was used in his exploration of form and colour to evoke his response to the scene. Hitchens saw nature as a series of objects and spaces which he converted into rhythms and patterns displayed through rich colours and varied brushstrokes.

His subtle changes of tone result in a unique and personal vision which dances between the figurative and abstract. He described the process in 1954: 'It is not the subject that truly interests me, but the many possible ways, and finally the only possible way of expressing it. Setting up canvas and box in all weathers, I seek first to unravel the essential meaning of my subject, which is synonymous with its structure, and to understand my own psychological reactions to it. Next I must decide how best it can be rendered in paint, not by a literal copying of objects but by combinations and juxtapositions of lines, forms, planes, tones, colours etc., such as will have an aesthetic meaning when put on canvas' (the Artist, personal memorandum, circa 1954).